Luís de Almeida Portugal, 2nd Marquess of Lavradio

His Lordship The Marquis of Lavradio


Viceroy of Brazil
In office 4 November 1769 – 30 April 1778
Monarch	Joseph I of Portugal
Preceded by	Antônio de Moura Tavares
Succeeded by	Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa

Personal details
Born	(1729-06-27)27 June 1729 Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal
Died	May 2, 1790(1790-05-02) (aged 60) Kingdom of Portugal

D. Luís de Almeida Portugal Soares de Alarcão de Eça e Melo Silva Mascarenhas, 2nd Marquis of Lavradio and 5th Count of Avintes (27 June 1729 – 2 May 1790) was a Portuguese nobleman and colonial administrator, Viceroy of Brazil from 1769 to 1778. He was the second ruler of the colony after its capital was moved from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro in 1763. He was the son and heir of the 1st Marquis of the same title, D. António de Almeida Soares e Portugal and his wife, D. Francisca das Chagas Mascarenhas, sister of the 8th Duke of Aveiro. During the Spanish invasion of Portugal in 1762, he commanded the 1st Cascais Infantry Regiment as its Colonel.

Biography

He was appointed Viceroy of Brazil in 1769, his government lasted 10 years. In his government, the Marquis of Lavradio promulgated the regulation of the diamond district. This regulation, made by the Marquis of Pombal, and promulgated by the charter of 10 July 1771, is a clear proof of how thorough was the spirit of the great minister and rigor with which he proceeded in these inspections. About this regulation the Brazilian writer Pereira da Silva wrote that it ordered him to: 'limit the number of residents in the diamond district, and state their professions, and invested the steward of almost dictatorial and absolute powers in all matters military, administrative, judicial and police, reporting directly to the metropolitan government, and without any dependence of the captains, generals.

Amazing the thoroughness of his regiment. Frighten the precautions taken by the government. Severe penalties to prevent the smuggling themselves, that ever since the discovery was developed largely by the ease of transport and concealment of the product and, despite all precautions and important actions of the authorities, without humiliation story that residents were suffering, and hardship and untold barbarians who passed by, if not increased, not diminished however, continued its regular course otherwise progressive.

The Marquis of Lavradio also had to contend with the caveat raised in Brazil, mainly in relation to the gentiles, the extinction of the Society of Jesuits. The system of indoctrination was not abandoned because they are exempted him and banished the Jesuits out of the Portuguese dominions. Not enough, and even finding themselves empowered for that purpose the existing religious orders in Brazil, the Capuchins fervently followed the footsteps of Jesuit priests and was employed in the missions dispatched to the interior, in charge of calling the nomadic tribes of social life, leading them to abandon their wild habits.

In 1779, two years after the death of King Joseph I of Portugal, the Marquis of Lavradio left the government of Brazil, being replaced by Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa.

References

Governors-general and Viceroys of Portuguese America

State of Brazil
(1549-1815)

Tomé de Sousa • Duarte da Costa • Mem de Sá • Luís de Brito e Almeida • Lourenço da Veiga • Manuel Teles Barreto • Francisco de Sousa • Diogo Botelho • Diogo de Meneses e Sequeira • Gaspar de Sousa • Luís de Sousa • Diogo de Mendonça Furtado • Matias de Albuquerque • Francisco de Moura Rolim • Diogo Luís de Oliveira • Pedro da Silva • Fernando de Mascarenhas • António Teles da Silva • António Teles de Meneses • João Rodrigues de Vasconcelos e Sousa • Jerónimo de Ataíde • Francisco Barreto de Meneses • Vasco de Mascarenhas • Alexandre de Sousa Freire • Afonso Furtado de Castro de Mendonça • Roque da Costa Barreto • António Luís de Sousa Telo de Meneses • Matias da Cunha •António Luís Coutinho da Câmara • João de Lencastre • Rodrigo da Costa • Luís César de Meneses • Lourenço de Almada • Pedro de Vasconcelos e Sousa • Pedro António de Noronha • Sancho de Faro e Sousa • Vasco Fernandes César de Meneses • André de Melo e Castro • Luís Pedro Peregrino de Carvalho e Ataíde • António de Almeida Soares Portugal • António Álvares da Cunha • António Rolim de Moura Tavares • Luís de Almeida Silva Mascarenhas • Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa • José Luís de Castro • Fernando José de Portugal e Castro • Marcos de Noronha e Brito

State of Maranhão
(1621-1751)

Domingos da Costa Machado • António Moniz Barreiros Filho • António Coelho de Carvalho • Jácome Raimundo de Noronha • Bento Maciel Parente • Pedro de Albuquerque Melo • Francisco Coelho de Carvalho • Luís de Magalhães • André Vidal de Negreiros • Pedro de Mello • Rui Vaz de Siqueira • António de Albuquerque Velho • Pedro César de Meneses • Inácio Coelho da Silva • Francisco de Sá de Meneses • Gomes Freire de Andrade • Artur de Sá de Meneses • António de Albuquerque Coelho de Carvalho • Manuel Rolim de Moura Tavares • João Velasco de Molina • Cristóvão da Costa Freire • Bernardo Pereira de Berredo • Alexandre de Sousa Freire • José da Serra • João de Abreu Castelo Branco • José da Serra • Francisco Pedro de Mendonça Gorjão •

State of Grão-Pará and
Maranhão (1751-1772)

Luís de Vasconcelos Lobo • Severino de Faria • Gonçalo Lobato e Sousa • Joaquim de Mello e Póvoas • Joaquim de Mello e Póvoas • António de Sales e Noronha • José Teles da Silva • Fernando Pereira Leite de Foios • Fernando António Soares de Noronha • Diogo de Sousa • António de Saldanha da Gama • Francisco de Mello Câmara • José Tomás de Meneses • Paulo José da Silva Gama •

State of Maranhão
and Piauí (1772-1775)

Joaquim de Mello e Póvoas

State of Grão-Pará
and Rio Negro
(1772-1775)

João Pereira Caldas